Litigation Against Mark Madoff to Continue Despite Suicide

Mark Madoff may be dead, but the litigation against him isn't going away anytime soon.

Last week, a court-appointed trustee sued Mark Madoff along with two of his siblings, saying they had used ill-gotten gains from their father's fraud.

On Saturday morning, Mark Madoff, 46, was found hanged with a dog leash in his Manhattan apartment. But despite his death, the lawsuits will continue, according to The Wall Street Journal.

"The litigation will take its course and the death of Mark Madoff will not impact that fact," the court-appointed trustee's lawyer, David Sheehan, said.

Mark Madoff worked with his father Bernie all his career. He has never faced criminal charges related to his father's fraud, but has been under investigation and faced accusations that he benefited from his father's crimes to the tune of millions of dollars.

Sponsored Links

Court-appointed trustee Irving Picard sued members of the Madoff family, including Mark, for $200 million as part of an effort to recover funds for the victims of Bernie Madoff's multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme.

Mark Madoff, who reported his father's fraud to authorities, struggled to find employment after the scandal broke. Meanwhile, legal bills and public animosity mounted.

"Despite what people think, I need to work," Madoff told a friend in late 2009. "How am I going to support my family?"

The scandal took its toll on Mark Madoff's personal life as well. Many of his childhood friends had invested money with his father Bernie. When the news of the fraud broke, it poisoned these relationships.

Picard filed lawsuits saying that Mark Madoff knew or should have known about his father's fraud. The suit accused Mark Madoff of receiving at least $66.9 million improperly through his father's investment fund.

Picard said that if Mark Madoff and other family members at the firm "had been doing their jobs-honestly and faithfully-the Madoff Ponzi scheme might never have succeeded, or continued for so long."

Mark Madoff's lawyer sought to have the case dismissed, saying it was baseless.

Bernie Madoff is currently serving a 150-year sentence in North Carolina. Authorities estimate that he defrauded investors out of as much as $65 billion.

Also See: Prison Rules May Bar Bernie From Attending Son's Funeral